Impressions

“Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” at first glance is a story about a murder, but it has much deeper backgrounds, including the time the USA were going through, the revolutionary changes of women of the time, the vulnerability and exposure, the verge between childhood and adult life, the relationships between parents and chilren, the loss of one's will, freedom and life. And though at first I wished I hadn't had to read it, the story is deplorable, sharp, thrilling, brave, meaningful, sometimes vivid, sometimes blurred, but first of all it is honest, and that is what makes it great. I just wish it could leave a little hope.

Character Sketch

Connie, obsessed with being adored and catching men's attention, is at the verge of abandoning childhood and entreing an adult life. But though she seems to be searching for independence, Connie remindes me of a lamb, vulnerable and lost, somewhat even pushed by constant critisim of her mother, whose help and protection the girl subconsciously needs. Her mind is full of trashy dreams, she desires to reveal her femininity and sexuality, and yet she is somehow scared of the consequenses, as her inner child is still alive and doesn't want to face all the cruelty of the world.

Arnold Friend is depicted as a predator, as a hawk who has found his victim, cruel and unstoppable, but still there is something ridiculuos and derisive about him. He lookes as a forty-year-old child, he is clumsy and awkward, pretending to look and talk and behave like a teenager, being afraid of his possible failure. Arnold Friend is ultimately a malevolent figure who wishes to harm Connie. His friendliness is an act designed to draw his victims to him. In this context his name is not only ironic but sinister: one more attempt to lull Connie into a false sense of security.

Connie's blooming sexuality is both a source of social and cultural power and a weakness, which allows Arnold Friend to manipulate her. Exploiting the young girl’s willingness to engage in what appears to be harmless flirting, he lures her into a much more dangerous situation. And here Connie appears to be the one about whom Bob Dylan sang "It's All Over, Baby Blue".

 

"My sweet little blue-eyed girl". Stylistic Devices

From the very beginning of the story through the description of Connie’s laugh one may see her split personality: “…her laugh, which was cynical and drawling at home—“Ha, ha, very funny,”—but highpitched and nervous anywhere else, like the ringing of the charms on her bracelet.” At home, with those people Connie actually can trust and rely on, she tries to reveal her revolutionary femininity, to be an independent grown-up instead of being a sincere and sinless child, while in public she subconsciously is afraid of showing this desire probably feeling some invisible danger, as her laugh is nervous. The author also ironically emphasizes the values of American teenagers including Connie by naming a fast-food restaurant a sacred building: “They went up through the maze of parked and cruising cars to the bright-lit, fly-infested restaurant, their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building that loomed up out of the night to give them what haven and blessing they yearned for.” This shows the exaggerated importance of mediocre public places, which girls see as place where all their ridiculously huge dreams come true, i.g. where they communicate with boys and show off. The poverty of Connie’s thoughts is noted in the simile “her mind was filled with trashy daydreams”.

Describing Arnold Friend, Oates used a very accurate simile, comparing him to a hawk. “And his face was a familiar face, somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened because he hadn’t shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawklike, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke.” This description shows Arnold as a beast of prey, driven by only animal instincts, ready to eat his victim, sniffing at his food at first. That is why Arnold Friend appears as particularly violent, like an animal hunter and predator. Still, trying to pretend someone he is not, Arnold Friend looks somewhat ridiculous in the eyes of Connie, and this implied simile is a proof: “a round, grinning face that reminded Connie of a pumpkin, except it wore sunglasses”. Arnold Friend has “the face of a forty-year-old baby”, which makes him detestable and repugnant. He tries to make himself closer to teenagers’ culture by using specific language, like ellipsis and slang, which creates an effect that he is not quite intelligent, in fact.

“This place you are now—inside your daddy’s house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time.” In this threat the house, which cannot protect Connie any more, is a symbol of her childhood, of her family and traditional moral values, which are all now on the verge of destruction. Once she herself and the world in general have chosen the way to abandoning the innocence of a child, the beauty of purity, they cannot come back and be safe and sound anymore. Connie screamed for her mum, trying to get back to serenity of her lost childhood, hoping to get some help from the one she has already lost, but the “adult” life, full of pain, had reached her.

In the very end of the story Oates uses allusion to Bob Dylan’s song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” in the words of Arnold Friends: “My sweet little blue-eyed girl”. It symbolized the end of many things: of kindness, innocence, childhood, family, love, and probably of life.

Plot Overview

Connie, fifteen, is a pretty girl, obsessed with her appearance, lost in daydreaming, flattered by boys' attention. Connie likes spending time with her friends at shopping centers and cafes. On one of the evenings out she catches a weird phrase “Gonna get you, baby” from a man in a gold convertible, but soon she forgets this incident, not knowing about the consequences of this fatal meeting…

One Sunday her parents and sister leave her at home alone while they go to a family barbeque. Suddenly the gold convertible with the same man shows up on the driveway. The man, whose name is Arnold Friend, begins talking to her and invites her for a ride. There is another man in the car, Arnold's friend Ellie. Firstly, Connie tries to be calm and hide her fear, and she refuses to go anywhere. The situation gets creepy when it starts to seem like this Arnold has been spying on her, as he knows her name, her friends, her family and that she is home alone. What is more, though he is dressed like a teenager and claims to be the same with the girl’s age, Connie notices that something is wrong, that it’s a lie: he looks much older. As Connie gets more scared, Arnold becomes more persistent and unpleasant, and all of a sudden he claims her to be her lover, and that is when a horrifying awareness comes. He threatens to come to the house if she calls the police, he says that he wants her and that she will give in to him, finally he threatens he will hurt her family if she does not obey.

Connie runs from the door and grabs the telephone. In a rushed, blurry scene, something happens: Connie is sweating and screaming for her mother; she can’t dial the phone; and Arnold is “stabbing her . . . again and again with no tenderness.” Oates does not say exactly what happens, but at the end of the scene, Connie is sitting on the floor, stunned and terrified.

She thinks to herself that she will never see her mother again. At Arnold's command, she stands up. She feels as though she is watching herself walk toward the door, open it, and walk outside toward Arnold. Connie looks out at the vast expanses of land behind him and knows where she is going.

Tragic Revolution Behind the Scenes

      One may describe the setting of the story as a suburban district somewhere in the USA of the 1950-60-s and put a dot. But if you go deeper into that period of time, you realize that there's much more behind the scenes.

     In 1960-s sexual revolution broke out in the US and lead to an unpredictable effect. In those days first feministic protests appeared, as women started to fight for their right to equality with men. For the first time in history they were disposed to demonstrating their sexuality. Because of feeling undervalued, women of the time wanted to be free to do whatever they wanted without being insulted while living in the men's world. Connie was one of those youg girls, who were eager to claim their attractiveness and yet were a little afraid of it, feeling some invisible danger. They became cheeky, indiscreet, gamesome flirts, and it sometimes awoken evil and cruel sides of men's nature.
     This revolution was a brave step, a loud voice, which had its good and bad consequences. It made women more desired and as a result more vulnerable and unprotected. That "independence" lead to struggling, and even after all these years women still have to defend themselves from uncontrolled power of men. The story leaves us with strong hope, that someday we all be equally powerful, without bearing wickedness in our hearts.

"When people say there is too much violence in my books, what they are saying is there is too much reality in life."

    Joyce Carol Oates, (born June 16, 1938) is an American novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. She is particularly famous for her penetrating depictions of violence and evil in modern world.

     Brought up on literary works of such brilliant authors as Ernest Hemingway, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Fyodor Dostoevsky, William Faulkner and Lewis Carroll, Joyce started to write at the age of 14, when her dear friend, grandmother Blanche, presented her with a typewriter.  

     A great influence on Joyce's writing style was made by Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann and James Joyce. Some critics draw parallels between Joyce Carol Oats and Sylvia Plath, whom Joyce admired greatly. Still, that is a disputable question, as Sylvia was inclined to romanticize suicide. Joyce, on the contrary, was attracted by strong in spirit, powerful characters, who were able to fight. She depicted cruelty of the time not to impress the reader, but to be reveal the truth. Joyce Carol Oates said: "When people say there is too much violence in my books, what they are saying is there is too much reality in life."

    While reading the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" one may claim it to be unrealistic, pessimistic and brutal, but in fact Oates was inspired by four murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine in an article written by Don Moser on March 4, 1966. It also has a connection with Bob Dylan's work, especially his song "It's All Over, Baby Blue".

"In 1965, I was writing my short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” when Bob Dylan’s “Bringing It All Back Home” was released. The album was riveting, but the song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” was especially moving and relevant. “Baby Blue” didn’t directly influence my short story, which was inspired by a Life magazine article about a serial killer in Tucson, Ariz., but the song’s soul and poetic rhythm were very seductive. The beauty of the song is that you can never quite comprehend it. We know only that something is over.   Essentially, the song is about mortality. In my story, which was first published in 1966 and many times reprinted, the life that my teenage character knew is about to end. It seemed fitting to dedicate my story to Bob Dylan."

     I believe, that this shows how sensitive the author is, how much she cares about what is happening around. Only a true artist can transform a disgusting, horrifying story about a man killing young ladies just to try how it feels, into such a remarkable piece of art. Only a true artist can be so touched simply by a song, and to be able to dig such a deep sense out of it.

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

     I switched on Bob Dylan (he always makes me kind of sad) and started to read the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. From the third page I knew I didn't want to read it anymore. Something about it made my heart leap. Something was wrong, and it was approaching very fast, scary and thrilling. I felt it inside, while my heartbeat was speeding up.

     Connie, who was so certain of her beauty, so obsessed with being adored and catching men's attention, so eager to run away from being a careless, lighthearted child, acturally reminded me of a lamb, vulnerable and lost. And I can't blame her taking into account the age, and the revolutionary fulminant times the world was going through. One can't expect a teenage girl to be considerate and wise. But still sometimes I wanted to yell, "Hey, Connie, don't you see it's a trap?!"

     As for Arnold, he was disgusting and repellent for me from the very moment he appeared in the story. He was fake and vulgar, and the only thing he instilled in me was distrust and the desire to run away as soon as possible.
     Till the end I pictured Connie figuring something out, running away, calling for help, tricking him and saving herself from inevitable disaster. But instead her thirst for being an adult, for becoming an attractive, sexual woman, her conviction for being someone she was not tricked her. And even when her inner child cried for help and she called for her mother, it was too late. She had lost herself. And as Bob Dylan sang, "It's all over now, baby blue".